​In the late 1960s, Jindalee cattle station in Western Australia is once again affected by drought. Jon Cadwaller's relationship with his troublesome neighbour, Kit Kennilworth, a fellow cattleman, disrupts his contentment, as does his concern for protégeé, Harry Hammond, who has returned from Vietnam a double amputee. Jon's brief return to England and his reaquaintance with Pete, a childhood friend, and Merle, an ex-girlfriend, draws him into the complex and volatile world of the Australian nickle boom. But, soon after, a terrible accident throws Jon into a dark depression in which old memories and emotions resurface. His family life in jeopardy, an old adversary returns and takes him on a journey, a journey of rediscovery and renewal.​